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Consultation Questionnaire

Is there need for a Scientific Code of Ethics?

Background to this consultation


The public no longer see scientists as a group that can be trusted to give accurate and unbiased information. Within science too there are increasing concerns about fraud, plagiarism and abuse of the peer review system. The Wellcome Trust and the research councils have put in place statements on good scientific practice* which are part of their grant-awarding conditions. However there are strong arguments for scientists, like other professionals, adopting their own codes of ethics, rather than having them imposed by outside agencies, as argued by Chris Skidmore in The Biochemist for December 2000.

What most concerns Biochemical Society members? What are their ethical standards? Is this an area in which the Society should become more involved? Give us your views in the second of these web-based questionnaires or e-mail Chris Skidmore, Hon Secretary for Policy, Education and Professional Affairs direct at c.j.skidmore@rdg.ac.uk.


* for published codes of good scientific practice see:
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/images/GOODRESEARCH_5815.pdf
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/overview/good_practice.pdf
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/pdf-good_research_practice.pdf

Go to the questionnaire


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